British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA)
Visitor Centre Operations Manager
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The Living Rainforest
South East
Closing date for applications is: 30th Sep 2026
Contact: Robyn Daniels (robynd@livingrainforest.org)
Sector: Education
Type: Paid
Contract type: Full-time
Salary: Competitive
Job Summary
We are seeking a dynamic and enthusiastic Visitor Centre Operations Manager to lead the daily operations of our visitor centre and create commercial success of The Living Rainforest visitor centre. In this pivotal role, you will oversee guest experiences, manage staff, and ensure the smooth functioning of all operational activities.
We are looking for a commercially minded leader who can create an engaging, welcoming environment that brings our charity’s mission to life and inspires memorable, meaningful experiences for every visitor.
Responsibilities
- To oversee the commercial operations and success of The Living Rainforest visitor centre.
- To manage the smooth running of the day-to-day operations of the visitor centre.
- To act as Duty Manager, and head up the wider Duty Manager team, including opening, closing and overseeing all operations within the centre.
- To manage Health and Safety across the centre, including First Aid.
- To oversee the front of house and educational school visits teams.
- Working with our wildlife team, support with the planning and construction of new displays and exhibits within the visitor centre.
- Working with our Marketing Manager, monitor visitor numbers, operational performance, and customer feedback to drive continuous improvement.
- Coordinate operations across all visitor centre teams, including front of house, café, shop, education, maintenance and glasshouse teams.
Health And Safety/Maintenance
- Manage all Health and Safety within the centre, in line with legislation and best practice. Including ensuring compliance with the health and safety policies and procedures within the centre.
- To be first point of contact for all health and safety queries and oversee the health and safety training of all staff.
- Ensure compliance with all relevant health and safety legislation and industry best practice.
- Ensure appropriate emergency procedures, fire safety arrangements, and evacuation plans are in place and regularly tested.
- Investigate accidents, incidents, and near misses, implementing corrective actions where necessary.
- Maintain health and safety records, inspections, and statutory documentation.
- Ensure compliance with safeguarding, food safety, first aid, and accessibility requirements where applicable.
- Manage the maintenance department and ensure the upkeep of all equipment and facilities at the centre.
- Oversee the planning and delivery of maintenance projects.
- Carry out and review risk assessments for all operational activities, ensuring a secure and safe environment for staff and visitors.
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Visitor Experience
- To demonstrate excellent customer service within the visitor centre, and promote good practice within all areas of the visitor centre.
- Oversee the public facing teams, including managing rotas and coordinating with part time and weekend staff.
- Oversee the development of a profitable and effective sales operation which contributes to the overall visitor experience. Including monitoring retail and cafe performance.
- Support the Front of House and Café Managers with their ongoing training needs.
- Assist in the recruitment of new staff and develop programmes to maximise the retention of existing staff.
- Be responsible for end of day cashing up and all associated administration, ensuring that all till operations are carried out in accordance with our policies and procedures.
School visits/public engagement
- Oversee the smooth running of the onsite education team within the centre, including supporting school visits and public engagement activities, alongside other visitor centre operations.
IT/Systems
- Work with IT to ensure all equipment is running correctly.
- Have familiarity with the EPOS systems and work with Managers to ensure fully functioning.
- Assist in the onboarding and offboarding of employees, including software licenses, logins, and induction training.
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Qualifications And Skills
- Proven management experience in a visitor services environment.
- Be commercial minded.
- Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate diverse teams.
- Excellent communication skills to engage with visitors, staff, and external partners effectively.
- Knowledge of health and safety and other operational legislation.
- Ability to multitask in a fast-paced setting while maintaining attention to detail.
Details Of Role
This is a full time position and includes working some weekends in line with the Duty Manager rota. Due to our remote location and our offices being offsite, driving and access to your own vehicle is an essential.
Apply For This Job
To apply, please send your CV together with a covering letter to robynd@livingrainforest.org explaining why you are interested in our role.
Thank you for your interest in joining our team. Due to the popularity of some vacancies, if we haven’t contacted you back within 28 days, please assume that your application was unsuccessful.
We aim to be an equal opportunities employer and we are determined to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, age, disability, religion, belief, sexual orientation, marital status, or race, or is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justifiable.
The Living Rainforest is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and Adults at Risk. Therefore the successful applicant will need to undertake an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check for this role.
Please note we may choose to close the role earlier than the closing date should we feel we have sufficient applications.
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